The Fall Break Report

This is two weeks late but we still need to keep our dedicated readers updated.

Two weeks ago involved a lot of traveling.  I started out the week flying to Tampa, Florida to train a new freelance photographer for my job at University Photography.  I felt rather grown up on my first business trip.  I stayed in a hotel, rented a car, and had everything expensed to University Photography.  It was great.  The only drawback was that I was in Tampa for a total of 24 hours.  That's it.  Oh well.  I still got to eat some great Haitian food while I was there!

Our next destination was Salt Lake City, Utah.  I was the wedding photographer for a couple in our ward that wanted to be married in the Salt Lake City temple.  This gave us a great excuse to catch up with old mission friends and family members in Utah.  So, after staying up late doing laundry and packing for the trip, Karen and I were scheduled to leave KCI at 6:45am.  With 3 hours of sleep we left Lawrence at 4:45, thinking we would have plenty of time to park our car, take the shuttle, check our bags, and board the plane with relatively little stress.  Unfortunately, that wasn't the case.  For starters, the shuttle to the terminal was late.  When we walked into the terminal we were surprised to see it packed with hundreds of people bustling about and standing in lines that snaked around whatever open space could be filled in the terminal.  It was the busiest either of us have ever seen KCI!  And it was 6:15am on a Thursday morning!  Fall break apparently was a big deal to a lot of other people that day too.  So we waited in line and before checking our bags we noticed that our flight had begun boarding.  We hurried up to the counter and scanned our tickets and a loud sound came from the scanner indicating that we were late arrivals.  The lady at the counter put tags on our bags and explained that she could not guarantee our bags would arrive on the same flight to Salt Lake.  We dropped our checked luggage off to be x-rayed and crossed our fingers, hoping that they would arrive in SLC when we did, and ran to our terminal for the security check in.  We started going through and heard our names being called over the intercom at the gate saying that our flight was in its final boarding call.  We stripped down all of our metal items, emptied all pockets, and I divided up my camera equipment/electronics I was taking as carry-on.  I got through first and Karen was pulled aside for a more thorough inspection because she set off the detector.  I ran, barefoot, to our gate and told them that we were almost there, but that Karen was being held up at security.  I ran back, got dressed again, and fortunately Karen got through the security after a very observant worker spotted her huge metal earrings as the cause for the delay.  We ran down to the plane and took our seats as we were being pushed back from the gate.  We were the last ones ones on the plane.  

We had a lay over in Denver for an hour and a half.  Denver, by the way, is a great airport to be laid over in if you have a laptop.  They are very technologically conscience.  They had these great chairs with power outlets and USB ports to charge/power your many electronic devices that just about everyone has these days.  The cherry on top was the free wifi access.  I think every airport in the world should have free wifi.  With the price we're paying for plane tickets these days, the least you can do is provide stranded travelers with some free internet surfing.  Stepping off the soapbox.  We also thought ahead and brought a movie with us to watch in the airport/on the plane.  I have a paper to write in my sociology class where I have to compare/contrast a pair of movies from a list of selections by my professor.  I chose the James Bond movies and will compare Dr. No, the first of the 007 series, to Casino Royale, the most recent.  We found Casino Royale much easier to come by and brought it along with us.  It was a great "escape" movie for traveling.  Good suspense and a relatively well thought out plot.  Of course we had to start boarding the plane when it got to a good part in the movie.  We watched most of the rest of the movie before we landed in Salt Lake.

When we arrived in Salt Lake, we decided to just go to the baggage claim office and find out what we had to do to get our bags that were most certainly not on the same flight we were.  We were told that we would need to come back to the airport 3 hours later to pick up our bags.  A little bummed, we took a quick bathroom break and were about to find the car rentals when I decided to just go look at our baggage claim for our flight, just to see if we got lucky.  As I was walking up, I spotted Karen's bag and mine was a few bags later.  We felt like we had won the lottery!  There were maybe 15 minutes between when we dropped our luggage off and when our plane pushed off from the gate.  Those late tags saved us a major inconvenience.  Southwest Airlines gets a major thumbs up for that one.  They have a lot more leg room than most airlines and they didn't lose our luggage or even make us wait for the next flight to bring it.  Kudos to Southwest!

The rest of the trip went by very fast.  We started out heading down to Provo.  We took Karen's ring in for repair as one of her small diamonds fell out.  Fortunately it was under warranty and all we had to pay for was the shipping back to Kansas.

Next, we met Kiersten Halladay at Cafe Rio.  Keirsten was Karen's last companion on her mission in London.  Cafe Rio is one of the best places to eat when you go to Utah.  It's like Chipotle but better.

After lunch and a nap in the car, we went to see Karen's sister Susan.  We bought the food and she prepared everything and we had a great time.

We then went to visit my old mission president and his wife, Noel and Sydney Reynolds.

We stayed over night in Salt Lake at one of Karen's Aunt and Uncle's house and the next morning we woke up early to go to the temple for the sealing and then pictures for the rest of the day.  It was beautiful weather and Kevin and Amy were a very fun couple to photograph.  Karen was also a great help too.

After a short luncheon, we went to visit one of my old mission buddies, Trent Guzy.

That evening we went to the reception which was held at a beautiful greenhouse.

After the reception we headed up to Centerville to stay the night at another Aunt and Uncle's house and to meet up with Abigail Cannon, another of Karen's mission companions.  We met in a Wal-Mart parking lot and then she came with us for a sister missionary slumber party.  

The next morning we met up with Kimberly Panchuk, another missionary companion, at IHOP and then headed back to the airport.

We had a great time seeing old friends from our missions and seeing family too.  I took some beautiful pictures and got some more experience with some new photography equipment I bought recently.  What a great fall break.

My weak.

Yes..I misspelled that on purpose.  Weak has been the story of my life since last Wednesday.  As Adam mentioned previously, I have been sick, which is altogether quite new to me.  Last Wednesday I started feeling horrible at work and had a temperature of 101.3 when I got home.  So, maybe that's not a big deal to most people, but my last fever was when I was 3.  I almost cried.  I felt like I was melting, I felt so hot and uncomfortable.  To top that off, I had a pulsing headache and my lower back had been hurting again.  Adam gave me a blessing and I tried to go to sleep.  I no longer felt hot, but I woke up every single hour.  Not a fun way to spend a night, I don't recommend it.  When Adam woke up, we discovered my temperature had passed 102, so I missed school, took Nyquil, and finally got some sleep.  I had a previously scheduled doctor's appointment, so it worked out perfectly....that is until my stomach decided to remove the small amount of food I had been able to eat that day 10 minutes before my appointment.  I didn't make it to the doctor's.  Thursday night was the same - no sleep, until I remembered Nyquil at 1 AM (remember, I'm a novice at this whole sick thing).  Friday I still had a temperature, but I was so bored of being home!  Adam's mom gave me Tylenol, my fever broke and I was a happy 98.3!

Then came Saturday morning....General Conference Saturday....my favorite Saturday.  I wake up with a fever!  And headache.  And back pain.  I waited to go to the doctor because my fever was only 99.5 and I didn't want them to laugh at me.  After a horrible morning, I "Asked A Nurse" who told me to go to the ER.  I cried.  And texted Adam (who I didn't want to know I was crying...then he gets really worried.).  He left work early to pick me up.  I told him I googled how much the emergency room was and told him I wasn't going for a measly fever.  We compromised on Watkins Health Center (I really just wanted to take a Tylenol and call it good).  We got there, they told us there was an after-hours fee and Adam forced me to do it anyway (he told me it isn't always healthy to be a cheapskate...literally).  Well, we're glad we went.  Initally, they just thought I got something from the little two-year olds I work with.  Nope!  Turns out I have a full blown kidney infection!  And all that lower back pain?  That's my kidney!  Who knew?  My doctor gave me some heavy duty antibiotics and some anti-nausea medicine.  I didn't understand why the anti-nausea pills were described until my doctor told me my antibiotics were $20/pill and she didn't want me to throw (up) my money away.  Smart doctor!

So now....I haven't been to school or work since Wednesday and won't be until maybe this Thursday.  I'm quite sick of being sick.  I did arrange to work from home this week (I feel so professional and un-student hourly!), so that gave me something to do this morning.  I still have a paper to write for tomorrow (my teacher hasn't told me if I can email it to her or not, so I might be making one trek on campus tomorrow after all).  I should find ways to stay busy tomorrow - the house is a mess after a week of no cooking or cleaning and we are running out of dishes!  Maybe I'll get a burst of energy and tackle the 350 sq. feet we call home.

Temples!

First, Dallas...

Then St. Louis...

Nauvoo...

Winter Quarters (Omaha)...

and now......Kansas City!  How exciting!  I can't wait to find out more about where exactly it will be built and when.  This will make it possible to go to the temple even more (especially with the cost of gas nowadays!).

Self Portrait

So, this may be a little strange for many of you out there.  I'm posting out of turn!  Karen has been really sick for the last two days and that's big news.  I don't think she's ever been this sick for this long.  She doesn't know how to be a good sick person.  The good thing is that she reads up all she can on what to do to make herself feel better.  

During her sickness, however, I have had a chance so experiment with some of my new photography equipment.  I have been reading a lot in a professional photographer's blog about off-camera flash techniques.  I've been itching for a chance to start using the stuff I've learned and I finally got enough money to invest in some amazing gear.  I bought, among many things, radio remote triggers for my flash so I can make my flash fire from up to 1600 feet.  Excessive?  Perhaps.  But I'm going for reliability and compatibility for the future.  The brand, Pocket Wizard, is the industry standard, and that's what I plan on using.  I love being able to learn by trial and error.  That's pretty much how I've learned everything in photography and it's addicting for me.  That's a benefit of doing something you love to do.  Anyways, check out some of my self portraits I've done between the hours of 10pm and midnight.

I have all of the behind the scenes information on the description of each picture if you are curious how each shot was made. I have also discovered Flickr, which is a really cool photo sharing community. I'm getting so many more ideas for pictures after seeing some of the stuff on there. Professionals and amateurs alike share some great techniques and ideas on there. Check it out.

Karen's Birthday

So, as many of you likely know, it was Karen's birthday on September 19th.  Here are a few pictures that document the festivities and gifts she received.

This picture shows the phone that we got about a month ago because her phone decided not to hold a battery charge any more.  Even after we put a brand new battery in, it didn't work, but this one is a champ.  Karen is a text queen now that she has a full keyboard.  You can even see her thanking me for the phone with a text she sent me seconds after the picture was taken.

It's a check!  I woke Karen up from a nap to open presents after I got home from work that day.  Her first gift was a card and generous check from good ole Grandpa Wit.  Thanks a bunch!

Seven Brides for Seven Brothers.  We officially have it now and Karen had never seen it.  My parents decided that she needed to have it.  She has that look on her face because she's trying to find the best way to open the DVD, her favorite thing to do.

These are the bath salts that came along with the movie.  Karen had a cold and was trying to smell them, but the package was sealed and there was no scent.  Bummer.

Karen's friend Nicole bought Karen a High School Musical refrigerator magnet and a book for bread recipes.  That's a gift that keeps on giving.  Thanks Nicole!

This was a jawbreaker that Holly gave Karen.  The story goes that back in 7th grade they were sitting in the rear-facing back seat of a station wagon and Holly decided to experiment with her kissing skills on the jawbreaker.  Little did they realize, Holly's older brother was in the seat just behind her hearing the entire thing.  How embarrassing!

Next came my bag.  Flight of the Conchords season 1 on DVD.  She was a little excited about this one if you can't tell...  Here's my new favorite part:

This was in the bag too.  It's a chocolate bar from England that says, "It's not for girls!"  I thought she would like that.  I will let her eat it, don't worry.

These are gifts from Bath and Body Works.  It's a foot cream and super soft socks.  I asked her how the candy bar and foot stuff were related and she gave me this look.  She didn't get it.

This gift was something I came across at Bed, Bath, and Beyond.  It's a laptop holder thingy.  It's perfect for working on the computer while on the couch or in bed or on the floor.  I figured it would be a gift for both of us because we watch LOST episodes laying in bed a lot.

Next we had cake and finished out the night with a dinner at Ingredient where we had two very tasty gourmet pizzas and then we were the last people in the world to go see "The Dark Knight" in theaters.  We both really liked it, the pizza and the movie.

In other news, I finally have my website up and running again so you can go check it out.  I have some cool sunflower pictures on there that I took recently.  You can find it under the Nature/Landscape tab of the website.

Other than that, everything is going well.  We both had a busy week at school with tests and papers due in almost every class.  Work has gotten a little more busy for me now that the Operations Manager has switched to a new person.  I'm taking a little more of the responsibility now because I have more working knowledge with the equipment than the current Manager.  It's a great opportunity.  I love telling people that I'm a photographer now.  So hurry up already and check out my website and email me if you need pictures taken.

Hoy, hoy, mighty Troy! Go, fight, win!

So, I am never really a "tag" person.  But, after experiencing Joel's and Amelia's "yearbook pictures" and reading Mary's high school tag...I just couldn't resist.  High school was a very dorky time for me, which can make for a rather amusing post.  Plus, Adam is still uploading pictures from my birthday (it's technically his turn to post, so he'll do that next).  So, here we go!

HIGH SCHOOL TAG!

1. Did you date someone from high school? Ryan Q. for a week.  Five days of which were spent trying to break up (I asked one of my friends to do it, but she forgot, so I thought we had broken up and he had no idea....so another friend took care of it....you gotta love 14 year olds dating!). I also ended up dating Kory F. for a long time without even realizing it.  Chris L. and I dated my junior year, but I thought Adam Buhler and I were going to date, so I broke up with him.  And, no...Adam and I did not date...he started dating another girl right after Chris and I broke up.  Tragic. Then, Kevin M. and I dated my junior and senior year.  Good times were had by all.

(The summer o' love...)

2. What kind of car did you drive? Blue '94 Corsica.  And my junior year I drove our 12 seater van.  That wasn't awkward to park at all...

3. What was the most embarrassing moment of HS? My friend Secily and I were freshmen at the time, staying late after school to audition as dancers for our school's talent show.  We were practicing the dance and random turns in a hallway, using the glass window on the door as a mirror.  As I was attempting to do a double turn, I totally fell into the glass, realized that though the lights were off, there was an entire classroom full of adults....all starting at me.  Not cool.

4. Were you a party animal? Yeah...no, not all.

5. Were you considered a flirt? I think I considered myself a flirt, but I doubt anyone else saw me in that way.  Keep in mind I had the same idea of flirting as third graders.

6. Were you in band, orchestra, or choir? Band for two years, choir for four.  Good ol' Mr. Ubicaritas.

7. Were you a nerd? I didn't think I was, but yes, yes I was.

8. Were you on any varsity teams? I was on the dance team.....if that counts.

(from our "Thriller" dance for Homecoming...it was pretty sweet.  I think I watched MJ's music video 100 times to choreograph it just right!)

9. Did you get suspended/expelled? Once for fighting (jjjjjjust kidding!).

10. Can you still sing the fight song? "Give three cheers for Old Topeka High, one, two, three - rah! rah! rah! Show that foe that we cannot deny victory! Team! Team! Let every Trojan son know we're behind the gun, til the battle is won.  So if we all pitch in another victory we'll win for Topeka High!" I can do that dance to it too if you ever want to see it.  Just let me know...

11. Who were your favorite teachers? Mrs. V. for teaching me the school fight song. Mr. H. for letting me get out of band and play office in his office.  Mr. E. for being so ridiculous and providing a many opportunities for us to mock him.

12. Where did you sit during lunch? Either by our lockers or in "the cave."  It was right by the side stairs and we had a perfect view of people falling down the stairs.  Beautiful.

13. School mascot? Trojan!

14. Did you go to homecoming, and with who? We didn't have a formal homecoming dance.  My freshman year I "went" to the casual homecoming dance with Ryan Q. and that began the five days of trying to break up.

15. If you could go back and do it again, would you? I enjoyed high school a lot, but I am glad to be done with it all.

16. What do you remember most about graduation? Meeting with my girls at Nico's house before....driving to the Expo and feeling like we were just watching a movie.  It was surreal.

17. Where did you go on your senior trip? The choir was supposed to go to D.C., but Mr. E. cancelled the trip due to terrorist activities (which didn't happen, btw).

18. Were you in any clubs? Technically, not really.  I was on Heritage Panel because I was LDS, but I had never been discriminated, so I didn't have any stories to share when we went to other schools.  But on Yearbook Club Photo Day, I was totally involved!  Spirit Club, Math Club (we had the coolest picture), treasurer of Frisbee Club, etc.

19. Have you gained some weight since then? Of course!

20. Who was your prom date? Kevin M. both years.  Our first after-prom picture looks like I'm pregnant (the year of the peasant shirts) and the next year we learned to spend the majority of the time at the blackjack tables, then spending our earnings at the prize table.  I got a hair dryer, computer speakers, and gift certificates for college. Not too shabby!

21. Good grades? Until I slept through AP Calculus, yes.

22. Did you ever ditch? Two times.  Two stories to go with them. 1. Sophomore year - After a band concert, we do nothing in band the next day.  Mr. H. gave us permission to leave and go to Anna's house for breakfast.  We left, ate breakfast, then drove back to school.  On our way back, we stopped at a four-way stop....and who was also stopped there?  Nicole's mom (Nicole was driving us in her car, by the way)!  Nicole tried to get away, but her mom followed us and caught us.  Her parents laughed about it and would say "busted!" any time she came into the room.  I told my parents who probably sat me down to explain the importance of honesty and attendance at school.  2. Senior year - Kevin was at KU, but came to Topeka to take me out to lunch one day (we had 25 minutes).  He called the front office, pretended to be my dad to excuse me from choir.  The office is used to my mom calling in, called my dad at work, told him someone had pretended to be him, and then called my mom.  The entire time, we were at Schlotzsky's having a grand old time.  When I got home, they let me know that they knew!  The best part?  Kevin apologizing to my dad that weekend and my dad reminding him that when he takes the bar, he would have to describe any times he had been dishonest and this would have to be on there (Funny thing - Kevin is now at Washburn, sees my dad all the time, and will be taking the bar later this year....).

23. Are you planning on going to your 10 year reunion? Now that I have stalking through Facebook, what's the point?

World Travelers

While we may not agree on the need for excessive amounts of throw pillows, Adam and I definitely agree on one thing - we like to travel.  We haven't done much, but we want to do more!  We've made lists of where we want to travel, and in true missionary style, have set goals and made plans to achieve those goals!  I would say we have been fairly successful so far in our life together.  It's been over a year since we've dated (then been engaged and married) and we've already taken a road trip to Utah, two roadtrips to Nauvoo (okay, so they don't count as much), a honeymoon in Chicago, a trip to Florida, and a cruise to the Bahamas.  Not too shabby!  It's a good thing we don't mind cutting out the little things (restaurants, movies, tv, etc.), because we enjoy the trips much more!  It looks like the next year will be just as exciting!  

This fall break, we are spending three jam-packed days in Utah.  The main purpose of our trip will be Adam taking pictures of Kevin's and Amy's wedding and reception in Salt Lake.  But, we are good with our time and will be able to see one sister, two sets of aunts and uncles, three mission companions, and one jewelry store (we need work done on my ring).  Not bad for just about 60 hours!

Over winter break, we will be marking one year of married bliss.  We couldn't think of a better way to celebrate, than to head over to the Bay and visit Grandpa Witt.  He was quite the traveler with Grandma and Uncle Louie, so we are looking forward to hearing about his adventures and having a few of our own.  Debbie and I got to spend a week with him last August before school started and it just wasn't enough!  Besides, Adam and Grandpa were roommates over Thanksgiving this past year, so I'm sure they'll want to catch up.

Our summer vacation wouldn't have been possible, were it not for my younger sisters' orthodontist work, college tuition bills, and my mom's new kitchen appliances.  Yes, my friends, my parents are paying for us to fly to England with frequent fliers.  We are so grateful and excited...we would not be able to afford this trip were it not for them!  Having seen Adam's mission, I can't wait to go back to mine and introduce him to everyone.  Plus, he's never been and I am quite the tour guide.

Since it will be a long time before we can cross the pond again, we decided to take a train over to Paris for a few days.  We're hoping to get by with Adam's French/Haitian...we'll let you know how that turns out.  The real excitement will be to see my Sister Margueritte (she goes by Alina Bertola now for some reason....not sure why....).  She and her hubby will come meet up with us.  Those boys have no idea what will happen!  Here's a little snapshot of our companionship:

So...that's our upcoming travel plans.  With Adam's new job he's able to take on lots of extra projects and make extra money, so we're hoping to use some of that for these adventures.  Or, my dad always tells us, "Two can eat as cheap as one if only one eats."  So, if things get tight, we'll just switch off weeks.  That should cut down our grocery bill!

And though we don't have the means or time yet, we've already started planning our next trips:

We had so much fun hanging out with these three (Finn's not in the picture), that we are hoping to make it out to Georgia before it gets washed away by more storms.  

And, what can be better than the Geeky Gees out in D.C.?!  We've already decided we'll take the train out to see them.  Cheaper, two stops in Chicago, and way more fun than airlines.  

Spring Break '10!

Any other travel ideas?